Messages - bamf

If you were going to be paying living expenses at GW I would say it would be a closer call, but if you can get a GW degree with what, 100k in loans, as opposed to 170k+, I would say it is a pretty clear cut decision ... GW. I don't mean to diss cardozo, but GW is a better school.

This post is a variation on the old theme of $$ vs. prestige. I have not finished my cycle but it looks like I will be choosing between a lower t-14 close to sticker or a decent school 1/2 off or full ride. Here's the twist: I know I am interested primarily in Public Interest and D.A. work.

So for those of us heart set on taking a vow of poverty after we graduate, what say you? Does the possibility of incurring too much debt to turn down a Biglaw salary mean we should take the money at a lower ranked school? Or will we need a nice degree to insure respect for the rest of our lives, in case there are some who can't see past a cheaper suit than theirs, regardless of the debt?

This is a very tough call. Look into LRAP programs very closely -- you may not have to make the sacrifice. That said, DA's offices hire from all over the place. If it's a choice between a T14 at full price and a T25 at full scholarship (or almost that), it becomes very hard to justify taking the T14 if it doesnt have good loan forgivene

I wholeheartedly agree with this post. Talk to someone in each school's career services about the repayment options, and also pay attention to the federal repayment plan ... I'm told, though I don't have all the details, that you can sometimes even use both in tandem. Anyways, if you want to be a DA, also pay attention to the geography of your school choices. If you want to work in New York County DAs office, and you are picking between Cornell and WashU, go to cornell. If you want to work in the DA in Cook County (Chicago ... actually I think they call it State's Attorney there) and you are picking between Illinois and Cornell, I have got to think you'd be better off at UIUC ... get what I'm sayin'?

Here's my dilemma: which school is better if I plan to pursue intellectual property (patent) law? GW is close to NY and its IP law ranked 3rd in 2008 US news. However, GW has a lower overall ranking than Vanderbilt.

My career goals are to work in one of the big firms preferably in NY or CA.

Thanks.

I think that generally, GW is thought of as a pretty good IP school. Frankly, look to the availability of IP classes at eah, and the professors that you might want to study with. Do either have a journal? How about alumni chapters in the CA cities you want to work in? Do you want to go to a school with a larger overall class size or a smaller class size? Now that you have it down to two, intangibles are key. Either one of these schools will get you where you want to be, if you do well. I'd venture to say that in IP these schools do almost exactly the same in either NY or LA/SF, or any of the other IP hotbeds (with maybe a little push to GW just because of self-selection)

Hi. First time poster, long-time lurker (I feel like I'm calling into a radio show lol).

Anyways, I'm very interested in becoming an academic. Corduroy jacket, elbow patches, beard, and undergraduate women lol. Srsly tho i;m very excited about the possibility of better understanding the theory of the law. Also, teaching my knowledge of it back to potential law students. As crazy as this sounds, I have little interest in practicing. I love university life and going to football games and stuff. So I'm in a bind deciding where to go in the fall. Money is of course important.

So, by scanning these boards for a while, I've gathered that RANKING is very important. Schools are prestige whores. So I should basically go to the best school I get into. Now that my cycle's winding down this is what I've got:

Florida StateWidener ($$$)Creighton ($$)U San Francisco ($$)

Now, I'd really like to go to USF or something because of the city life and the money. However, since I want to teach law at a highly respected university, I think I should go to FSU. I mean, they have the name recognition and the reputation across the country. So if I want to be a law professor, I'm thinking that I should definitely do that. However, is it worth turning down all these great scholarships?!

Yeah buddy ... no offense, but you're not teaching out of any of those schools unless you are around the top 5 ... people ... and then get yourself a few killer clerkships and get both your law review note and a piece you write after graduating published ... and even then ...

As crazy as this sounds, I have little interest in practicing. I love university life and going to football games and stuff.

you don't want to be a lawyer, and you want to keep going to football games and participating in "university life" ... I'm thinking that instead of sinking 100k and 3 years of your life into law school you should just ask the brothers if you can live at the frat house next year.

Do not ... I repeat DO NOT ... go to law school unless you want to be a lawyer. I am freakin warning you now, seriously.

As a student at a Jesuit law school I can tell you that there is very little actual presence of religion in the school at all, and there is never a situation where religion is foorced upon you. We don't say prayers at the beginning of class or avoid any legal topics that conflict with the bible. we do get off for several jewish holidays along with easter, which is sweet. I don't consider myself a catholic, or even a religious person at all, but I can appreciate the philosophy of the Jesuits, and I think that it translates into the development of a very strong educational community.

Since there is a lot of talk about likelihood of admission on this thread, I'll just point out that BCLS wayyyy overshot the goal for incoming students this year, which will probably mean a significantly smaller incoming 1L class next year. Usually we go for 270-280, meaning that next year could see a goal of 250-260, or maybe fewer now that the LLM program is up and running. Not to scare you, though...

if you can go to a T1 school, in the area you want to work, go there ... once you get into a few, start to look at their environmental programs. ultimately your ability to get into (public) environmental law, like any area and especially any area of national policy-oriented public interest/ government work, will depend on your school and grades. ultimately i would look to the schools you can get into based on your numbers, and then look through their course offerings and see if they have an environmental journal or clinic.

that being said, i have come across some excellent lawyers and professors in the environmental field that went to the lower-ranked schools that are big in e law (VT, Lewis and Clark, Pace, etc.). a lot of it is alumni base (these schools may or may not have larger alumni presence in this practice area than some higher ranked schools) and location (schools in more rural geographic areas have more land use and environmental-related work to be done). but when it comes to these specialty rankings, aren't they just based on surveys of professors? a lot of professors will rank these programs higher than employment stats dictate because places like VT or Pace have a major presence in the academic realm of e law ... they spend money on that area of law, hire better profs and thus play a big part in the academic discourse. the fact will remain, though, that if you go to a top school that isn't as well known specifically for e law you will probably still have an easier time getting the job you want.

i'm a 2L on the environmental journal at BC, so pm me if you have any questions

Since 'international law' is a pretty general category, and most school descriptions and rankings by specialty don't differentiate between international trade law, general international law (IE, international relations), international business law, et al, I would like to know what schools are best for landing international relations jobs at the government level. I suppose what I'm talking about would be work with in the US Department of State, ideally in either the Agency for International Development or Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. I'm not exactly sure what I'd like to be doing, but probably legal research or something along those lines.

Are there any schools particularly noted for this field? I assume Georgetown and GWU are, but I'm clueless regarding anything else. The prestigiousness of the schools (or lack thereof), or difficulty of getting in isn't an issue; my LSAT date is a year away and I have no idea how I'll end up doing. Any help or useful links would be very appreciated.

The fletcher school of international law and diplomacy at Tufts. It is not a JD, but rather a masters degree. and might be better for the kind of work you are interested in. If you want a JD as well dual degree programs can be worked out with Bost-area institutions (I know one kid in my class who did a year at Tufts, then came to BC for 1L, and will do another year at each institution. My former roommate did it the other way around).

Man, it is amusing how wrong the top 4 posters are ... First off, when you say "international law" to what are you referring? If you mean something business related, I would look simply at the best large firm placement, which from thlist is going to be eithe BC or BU.If you mean something more diplomacy/ NGO/ non-profit related, I would scratch BU first then take a look at the specific programs offered by each school. If I remember correctly ND has a very extensive program in London. BC also has a London program through Kings college; we also have a program with the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia (deals with war crimes from the soviet and post-soviet era in the balkans).

Now, I'm not going to get into any arguments about placement or BU being "in a better part of Boston" but I am just going to point out that this thread contains some of the most empty and useless advice I have seen on this board in a logn time.

These 4 schools are all comparable. They are somewhere between regional and national, they have good, not great, names and reputations. You need to visit, talk to actual students, talk to the administration and get REAL information, not this "ND is NATIONAL!!! Everyone has heard of that school!!!" word of mouth junk.